Snake Song - Prelude

Chapter 3: Kiss With a Fist

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My black eye casts no shadow

Your red eye sees nothing

Your slap don't stick

Your kicks don't hit

So we remain the same

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Cordelia Prince sat in the Slytherin common room staring out one of the large, ornate windows that looked out into the Black Lake. The only light left in the common room came from a few candles spread out across the room and the dull green hue from the lake. It cast the vast stone room with its leather button-tufted couches and dark wood furnishings in a sort of eerie glow, but Cordelia found this rather comforting.

It was late, probably past midnight, but she couldn't sleep. She kept replaying the events of the day in her head. It had been a particularly nasty day that had started with a letter from her mother berating her about participating in the quidditch trials. It seemed the school had sent her parents news of her injury. Something she really should have expected.

The letter had been something along the lines of "If you embarrass this family one more time, we'll transfer you to Beauxbatons Academy before you can say snitch." Being surrounded by silly little French girls for the next 5 years sounded like a fate worse than Azkaban to Cordelia.

It hadn't stopped there. Not long after her owl Sage had dropped off the dreaded letter and Cordelia was staring forlorn into her porridge, Malfoy had come swaggering into the great hall, wearing one of the Slytherin team's silver and green jumpers. Cordelia would have liked nothing more than to drown herself in her porridge. He'd sent her a haughty smirk and waltzed over to the rest of the team to eat breakfast. Presumably they would be heading to practice soon.

It hadn't been until later that day when Cordelia was moping around the common room pretending to make progress on her History of Magic homework that she had overheard the most infuriating bit of news. She had just crossed out the third unsuccessful sentence about how Barnabas the Barmy had tried teaching trolls ballet when Pansy Parkinson walked by with a few other girls in her year giggling about something asinine. However, a particular bit had caught her attention.

"...of course his father bought the whole team new brooms, he wants them to win the cup this year and it's not like he couldn't spare the expense. Only the finest for a Malfoy."

Cordelia's quill snapped in her hand and her nearby ink well magically flew off the table narrowly missing Daphne's head, who was sitting across from her, and smashed into the stone wall. Daphne looked up at her a bit wide eyed and muttered a "wow..." before Cordelia had stormed off.

That's how she got here, staring out into the swirling darkness of the Black Lake, instead of in her comfortable canopy bed, with its fluffy pillows, asleep like a sane person. Un-bloody-believable. She knew Malfoy wasn't above cheating and was an absolute menace to her on a daily basis, but she didn't peg him for someone who couldn't earn his own achievements. Part of her was disappointed in him. Despite their constant rivalry this felt low, unambitious even.

She did eventually drift off to sleep curled up on the dark green wingback chair, with one thought on replay in her head. Some Slytherin he is. Salazar is probably turning over in his grave.

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Maybe Salazar Slytherin had turned over in his grave. Cordelia thought wide eyed, staring at the body of Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, hung by her tail below the letters written across the wall in what Cordelia highly doubted was red paint. They had just been enjoying a truly excellent Halloween feast only to run into this on the way back to the common room. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware.